Self-opening door structures and operating mechanisms



Nov. 3, 195 9 E. UMBRICHT' SELF-OPENING DOOR STRUCTURES AND OPERATING MECHANISMS Filed Oct. 18, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I.

INVENTORQ EM/L UMB/P/CHT 'ATTOE/VEX? Nov. 3, 1959 E. UMBRICHT 2,911,211

SELF-OPENING DOOR STRUCTURES AND OPERATING MECHANISMS Filed Oct. 18, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 n \zil m Q Q T |J QQ Z I I. 1 I/ LL. I I j Q I a 1 I I 1 T Q n I Q 9% FIG. 2.

IN VEN TOR.

E'M/L UMB/P/CHT BY dmbk M0114:- *da/M ATTO/P/VEK? Nov. 3, 1959 E. UMBRICHT SELF-OPENING DOOR STRUCTURES AND OPERATING MECHANISMS Filed Oct. 18, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. EM/L UMBR/CHZ' ial/I k wlllllllll I ATTORNEY? E. UMBRICHT Nov. 3, 1959 SELF-OPENING DOOR STRUCTURES AND OPERATING MECHANISMS Filed Oct. 18, 1956 4 She jets-Sheet 4 INVEN TOR. EM/L UMBR/cfi? BY 2,911,211 SELF-OPENING DOOR STRUCTURES AND Y OPERATING MECHANISMS Emil Uinbricht, Jackson, Mich., assignor to Ajem Lab- 'oratories, Inc., Livonia, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October is, 1956, Serial No. 616,876

' 7 Claims. (Cl. 268-74) This invention relates to improved self opening door structures and door operating mechanisms. More particularly this invention relates to upwardly swinging doors other mechanisms are required along either side of the door opening.

Various types of overhead doors have been suggested prior to this invention. Typical of the prior doors is the overhead rolling door. This rolling door is raised upwardly and inwardly into the building when it is opened. To accommodate the rolling door within the building, it is made of a series of horizontal sections hinged together so that the door curls up when it is raised. In the curled condition it is stored in a space within the building and \above the door frame. This type of prior door requires specialized tracks extending down along both sides of the door opening, and these tracks and other operating mechanism require a large amount of installation space extending completely across the top of the door opening occupied by the raised door. In addition, in the hustle of loading and unloading, trucks and crates often are bumped against the vertical tracks along both sides of the opening, bending them and thus jamming the roll-up door and requiring expensive repairs and maintenance. j

Overhead storage of a roll-up door is an especially acute problem in industrial or commercial buildings such as garages, factories or shops. Piping, conduits, ductwork and other utility lines are commonly hung from the building ceiling and it is awkward and expensive to provide extra space for door storage. Guides,- racks and springs are needed to maintain the roll-up door in a raised position and these addto-the-space problem. An advantage of this invention is that the upwardly swinging door is not crowded into an already congested area. Instead this door swings outwardly and provides a convenient rainshed over the door opening.

A further advantage of this upwardly swinging door is that itis balanced and pivoted to open easily and when it is open, the only portion of the door within the building is the compact counterweight at the top of the door.

A still further advantage is provided by the fact that the door is conveniently hinged at the top of the opening, thus leaving the posts at both sides of the door opening free of obstruction; Any chance for accidental injury to the door operating mechanism is avoided. A unique compact opening and closing mechanism quickly and 1 that swing outwardly'and upwardly in being moved to an .open position and that are balanced.

Patented Nov. 3, 1959 smoothly opens and closes the door. This mechanism is compact and reduces the amount of mechanical energy. required to swing the door to anopen position.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be in part pointed out in, and in part apparent from, the description in this specification considere together with the accompanying drawings Although in the accompanying drawings preferred embodirnents of the improved self-opening door and operating mechanism of the present invention are shown and nrodifications thereof described in this specification, it is to be understood that theseare not intended to be either exhaustive or limiting of, the invention, but, on the contrary, are chosen for the purpose of illustrating the invention in order that others skilled in the art may so fully understand the invention, its principles and the application thereof, that they may embody it and adapt it in numerous forms, each as may be best suited to the requirements of itsparticularuse.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view frominside of the building showing a door being opened andnearing its fully opened position, the compact-operating mechanism being shown as installed near one corner of the door at the far end; 7 v

Figure 2 is a fragmentary rear view of the door in its olosed or vertical position;

. Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the door, the section being taken along line 3 in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan sectional view of the door taken along near the top edge and showing the location of the pivot hinges; Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view on enlarged scale and corresponding with the upper part of Figure 3 and showing one of the pivot hinges of thedoor and the integrally attached counterweight; p I

Figure 6 is 'a fragmentary sectional View taken generally along the line 66 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the lower portion of the dooras shown'in Figure 3 and illustrating on enlarged scale the lower edge of thedoor with an attachedbo'ttom sealing strip; I

Figure 8 is a plan view shown partially in sectionand partially broken away illustrating the power" driving means as shown .at the upper right in Figure l for smoothly and quickly opening and closing the door;

Figure 9 is a partial side view showing the door operating swing linkage means in co-operation Withthe door;

and

' This advantage'becomes strikingly apparent in a large.

Figure 10 is a perspective view, shown partially in section, of'the power driving means of Figure 8. I

Referring to Figure 1, :an upwardly swinging door generally indicated at 10 is shown installed in a building such as a garage. Figures 2-7 show in detail various features of the door depicted in Figure 1, to which attention is also directed.

The door '10 is conveniently hung from alintel beam 12. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention the door 10 is hingedly mounted on a weather sealing cross frame member 14 secured to the lower flange of the lintel beamsupported by side posts or columns 15. It is an advantage of this invention that it enables any convenient vertical side supporting members 15 to be used at both sides of the dooropening because these members 15 are freed from any requirement tocarry tracks or other door operating mechanisms such as are required in many prior installations;

garage or warehouse where there are a series of 'door openings with a row, .of vertical posts between them. These posts are all free of obstruction and can be constructed in .the most suitable architectural a rangement venient to service.

without interference from door tracks or the like. A saving in space and a much more trouble free installat1on results. Any accidental bump against the door posts cannot jam .the door as in prior structures.

Pairs of vertical C-s'haped'hinge pivot arms .16 (shown most clearly .in Figure 5) have flanges 17 fixedly secured by rnounting bolts to the cross frame 14 at each hinge point. These pairs of hinge pivot arms conveniently straddle the vertical tapered stiffening spar elements extending up :the inside of the door surface between the window openings 19. Pivot pins 20 span across between the hinge arms, passing through sleeve bearing inserts 2'1 (seen most clearly in Figure 6).

For ease in lubrication of the sleeve bearings 21, the p vot pins have :a longitudinal passage 22 closed at one end and feeding into a radial opening tothis hearing sleeve. Aretaining notch in the closed end of the pin is engaged .by. a keeper .23 secured to one of the arms 16, The lower portion of the door 10 is advantageously stifiened by the tapered spars 18 which become progressively slimmer towards the bottom of the door. The turning moment about hinge ,pins 20 created by that portion of the door below the pivot pins is thus made assmall as practicable for operation when the door 10 is, raised outwardly and upwardly to a substantially horizontal position. 'Ihe fully open position of the door is shown in phantom view by dotted lines in Figtires 3, 5, and 9. Moreover, these tapered spars advantageously .provide more room within the building. In

its fully open position the door may be horizontal or may .slope downwardly toward its cantilevered edge to provide for shedding rain, as desired. An adjustable stop and drive shut-01f mechanism is adjusted to posi tion the open door at the desired altitude. I

To substantially balance the door about the .pivot pins 20 a counterweight 23 is fixed to the upper part of thedoor above the horizontal axis passing through the pivots. The counterweight 23 shown in the illustrated erlpbpdiment is made of concrete formed within a steel s e flanges of a channel member 24 (Figure 5) secured to theupper ends of short lever bars .25 whichform extensions of the spars .1 8. These .lever bars .25 are solid and have their lower ends telescoped down beyond the plvots (see Figure 6) into the top ends .of the spars, which have a U-shaped cross section (as shown in Figure '4) and are secured .totthe door .panels 26 by outstanding -fianges.

It is among the advantages of the present invention that the door operating mechanism can be positioned at any convenient place near the counterweight along the top edge of the door. venient to locate the:operatingmechanismnear-one of the ends of the counterweight .23. As shown in Figure '1,

this operating mechanism, generally indicated at 27, is

located .at thefar :end .ofthe counterweight where it is adjacent :the far'wall. It is out-of-the-way and yet con- Ihe operating mechanism includes a lead link 28 pivotally connected to the upper front corner of athe counterweight .as indicated at 29 (Figure 1 9;). The other end of this lead link is pivotally joined at 30 .to an integral .rigid swing linkage Al-conveniently having ;aitriangular shape as shown in Figure 9. The swinglinkage is .also rotatably mounted at a rearward and upper pivot .32 .to .a fixed bracket frame 33.

bracket frame 33 is shown as bolted to a beam 34 forming the top plate of the side wall. It is to be understood :that this fixed bracket can conveniently be mounted upon the ceiling 35 in many buildings, depending upon the details of installation. In a warehouse or ilarge :garage, there often are large beams, such as the-acne shown at 36 in Figure 1, which correspond withfthe wall plate 34in size and run back from the door posts 15, on the side of which each bracket 33 can. be mounted.

This counterweight is supported between the In most instances it is more con- Extending back from the swing linkage 31 is a rigid tubular connecting member 37 pivotally connected to the swing linkage at a lower intermediate point 38.

It should be noted that while the swing linkage is shown as a rigid tri-sided bar arrangement, certain suitable equivalent rigid swing linkages may be used. In certain instances a. rigid triangular plate, or a T-bar, may be used. However, the swing linkage .31 shown, which is formed by a pair of seamless tubes 39 and 4t and a rigid solid compression bar 41 performs highly satisfactory fulfilling the function of the swing linkage.

The connecting member 37 shown in Figure 9 has a feedscrew extension 42 which is moved axially by a rotatable feed nut gear 43. In the. embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 9 the connecting memer 37 has a threaded feedscrew shaft 42 which is fixed in the member 37 and is screwed axially through the rotating feed gear 43.

As the threaded feedscrew shaft 42 is drawn rearwardly through the feed gear 43 it pulls the swing linkage 31 causing it to swing downwardly about the fixed pivot 32, as shown in phantom view by the dashed lines in Figure '9. -The lead link 28 followsthe linkage 31 downwardly and rearwardly. In turn the lead link 28 carries with it the pivot 29 and the attached counterweight, causing the lower portion -of the door to swing outwardly and upwardly about the common axis through the fixed pivot pins 20.

During the outward swing of the door 10, the effect of the counterweight 22 is remarkably pronounced and the swinging force required is reduced to a As illustrated most clearly in Figure 9 it is among the advantages of the present invention that in the closed position .all of the operating mechanism is above the lower edge of the main ceiling beams 34 and 36 and also is above the lower edge of the transverse roof supports 44. When the door is opened, only the counterweight 23 and the front .pivot 30 of the swinglinkage move slightly below the lower edge of the beams 34 and 35. The entire remainder of the space behind and around the door is free from obstruction by the door operating mechanism and is available for storage or for accommodating ductwork, piping and conduits.

If desired'the connecting member 37 with its integrally attached threaded feedscrew shaft may be replaced by a connecting member 37a of the telescoping type. Such a telescoping connecting member 37a is shown in Fig ures l, 8 and 10. This telescoping type is particularly desirable where the layout of the building utilizes the space behind the rear end of the threaded shaft'42 for storage.

The telescoping connecting member is suitably tapped to mate with a threaded feedscrew shaft 42a. The operation of the telescoping member 37a and feedscrew 42a is similar to-that shown in Figure 9, except that in operation the threaded shaft 42a screws axially into the member 37. In this embodiment the shaft 42a is keyed or pinned to the feed gear 43a as seen in Figure .8 so as :to rotate with it. Instead of tapping the tube 37a, suitable threads may be formed by welding a nut on the end ofthe tubular .member 37a with its bore aligned with the axis of the passage in the member 37a. This tube 37a is pivotally connected at a clevis 38 .to the swing linkage 31. One end of the feedscrew shaft 42a is cooperatively engaged with a threaded portion of the tubular member 370 and the other end is fitted with the feed gear 43a. The gear 43 or the gear 43a is. identically mounted in a trunnion gear frame 45, with the feedscrew passing through suitable bearing collars 46 at opposite sides of the gear frame 45. Toinsure proper location of the feed .gear 43 or 43a within the trunnion gear frame thrust bearings 47 (Figures 8 and 9) are provided on opposite sides of the feed gear.

As shown in Figure .9, the feedscrew. shaft conveniently passes through a clearance opening 48 in the roof support 44. During opening or closing of the door, the clevis pivot 38 on the end of the Connecting member 37 swings downwardly through an arc. In order to" accommodate this motion, the driving mechanism 37 is supported on a pair of trunnions 50 and 52 Whose axis of rotation intersects the axis of the feedscrew shaft 42 or 42a at the mid-point of the feedscrew gear 43 or 43a, respectively. These trunnions are pivotally supported in any suitable fashion to the building frame.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the door operating mechanism 37 advantageously requires only two mounting areas of connection to the building structure. One of these is'the area at which the fixed bracket 33, which holds the rear pivot 32 for the swing linkage, is secured to the building. The other mounting area holds the two trunnions '50 and 52. As shown in 'of the roof girder 44.

The feed gear 43 or 43a which is fitted to the feedscrew shaft is driven by a sprocket chain 56. This chain is driven by a sprocket drive gear 60 which is mounted on a shaft 66 within the trunnion gear frame 45. The rear end of shaft 66 (Figures 8 and 10) extends through and beyond the rearward side of this gear frame and a V-belt pulley wheel 68 is fitted onto the projecting end of the shaft 66. A'driving V-belt 70 is driven by a sheave 71 on a reversible drive motor 72 mounted on a platform 74.

In order to maintain proper belt tension, the platform 74 is provided at one end with a hinge pin 76. A channelshaped extension piece 78 is fixedly attached to one end of the gear frame 45 and provided with holes 80 in its flange portions 82. The motor platform hinge pin 76 is fitted into the holes 80 so that the motorplatform 74 is urged by gravitation torotate about the axis through the center of the holes 80, maintaining belt tension. The belt 70 is sufficiently short so that the motor platform 74 is held in an upwardly inclined position as shown in .Figure 10, thereby maintaining a'constant tension on the belt 70. I

The apparatus used to drive the telescoping feedscrew 42a is similar to that used to drive the fixed feedscrew shaft 42 (Figure 9). However, as shown in Figure 9 in phantom view, the threaded shaft 42 runs out through the rearward side of the gear frame bearing collars 46 when the door 10 is swung to an open position.

By virtue of the trunnion mounting of the gear frame 45 with the axis through the trunnions 50 and 52 advantageously passing through the axis of the feedscrew at the center of the gear nut 43, any possible strain on the threaded shaft 42 or 42a is removed, and the door is smoothly and easily swung open and closed with only a very small amount of power being required as compared with prior doors of comparable area.

To insure that the door 10 is tightly closed when placed in its closed upright position, a unique Weatherstripping arrangement is provided. A substantially horizontal lip or door strip 84 (see Figure 5) is fastened the main pivot is located at the center of gravity of the cantilever portion 88, thus forming a good weathertight seal. Ifdesired a strip of resilient felt material 90 may be arranged between the door strip 84 and the cantilever portion-.88 thus providing a very tight fit.

The outer edge 92 of the'flashing strip 86 is advantageously bent up within the cross frame piece 14 thus protecting the mounting bolts and adding to the tightness of the installation. As seen most clearly in Figure 3, the outer edge 93 of the frame piece is bent out in effect to form a rain deflector. I

To seal the bottom of the door 10 when it is in a closed position, a flexible strip 94 is provided across the lower edge of the door. rubber or a resilient plastic material and in closed position is held down in intimate contact with the ground 96, thus sealing tightly the door closure. In order to stiffen the lower edge of the'door, anangle brace 98 (Figure 7) runs across just below the lower ends of the vertical stiffening spars 18.

A narrow manually operable door panel 100' is mounted in the large door 10 at one end, enabling a person to step through the large door when desired. As shown, this door panel 100 is hingedly mounted on the end spar 18 of the main door 10 adjacent to the building column 15.

In a particular highly successful installation for a multiple-door garage wherein the door opening is approximately 8 feet. high and 18 /2 feet long, each counterweight weighs about 800 pounds, and each door itself weighs about 150 pounds. The relative lengths of the operating linkage are as follows. The radius (Figure 9) from the main door pivot 20 up to the driving pivot-29 is 18 inches. The lead link 28 has an effective length of 10 inches. The front swing pivot 30' is at a distance of 20 inches from the fixed pivot 32, and the intermediate swing pivot 38 is 12 inches from pivot 32 and'is spaced about 6 inches below the link 39. The angle between the links 39 and 41 is 30 as shown, which works very well when the, installation is such that the connecting member 37 is horizontal whenthe door is fully closed.

By virtue of the fact that the axis of the door pivot pins 20 lie in the plane of the door itself, the action of the counterweight 23 is most effective in counterbalancing the lesser weight of the door. As shown in Figure 5,

mass of the door plus its integrally attached counterweight so that a true pivot actionis obtained. The mass .of the door and its integral counterweight rotate about this pivot without any net resultant raising or lowering across the outer surface of the door 10 and above the the cross frame 14. The flashing strip 86 advantageously has a cantilever portion 88 which extends rearwardly engaging the undersurface of the door strip 84. The door strip 84 is positioned firmly to press down onto the of mass. Thus, none of the motive power is dissipated in raising or lowering mass. This advantageous operation is in marked contrast to the type of door wherein the entire mass of the door is raised up in opening the door.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the improved door apparatus andoperating mechanism of the present invention described above are well suited to providethe advantages set forth, and since many possible embodiments may be made of the various features of. this improved doo'r apparatus and operating mechanism and as they may be varied in various parts, all without departing from the scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense and that in certain instances, some of the features of the invention may be used without a corresponding use of other featuresQor without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim: I 1

1. Improved overhead door apparatus comprising means defining a door opening, a rigid door, a counterweight secured to the door near its top edge and forming a portion of the door and being movable therewith, a door frame extending across the top of the door opening, a plurality of hinged pivots having axes in a line parallel with and adjacent to said door frame, said door being The flexible strip 94 is formed of W 7 pivotally mounted on said hinge pivots and arranged for the. lower portion of the door to swing about said hinge pivot line outwardly and upwardly to an overhead position in opening, door swing drive means for swinging the lower portion of the door'outwardly and upwardly, said swing means being to the rear of said door near its top edge and above the line'of said hinge pivots and comprising a link having its front end pivotally connected to the top edge of the door, a swingable member pivotally connected at its upper forward portion to the rear end of said link said swingable member also being pivotally connected at a rear upper point to a pivot fixed with respect to said door frame, a feedscrew pivotally connected to said swingable member at an intermediate point on said swingable member below said upper forward portion and below said rear upper point, said feedscrew extending back horizontally from said intermediate point and being above the line of said hinge pivots, and trunnion-mounted power means engaging said feedscrew. I

2. improved overhead door apparatus including a substantially planar rigid door, a counterweight rigidly secured to said door above its top edge, said door and counterweight having a center of gravity substantially in the plane of said door, hinge pivot means defining an axis of swing for said door substantially in the plane of said door near its center of gravity, a lead link pivotally secured to said door at a pivot point above said axis when the door is closed, a swing member having a first pivot fixed with respect to the axis of said hinge pivot means, said first pivot being above said axis, said swing member being coupled by a second pivot to said lead link, said pivot point, said first pivot, and said second pivot being approximately in a line horizontal when the door is closed, a feedscrew shaft pivotally coupled to said swing member at a pivot connection which is below and between said first and second pivots, said feedscrew shaft extending horizontally away from said pivot connection and above said axis, a feednut gear mating with said feedscrew shaft, a trunnion support for said feednut. gear having an axis of rotation passing through the axis of said feedscrew shaft near the mid-point of said gear nut, and driving means coupled to saidfeednut and arranged to rotate said feednut.

p 3. Overhead door apparatus comprising a door, a door frame, said said door being pivotally mounted on said frame along a substantially horizontal axis in its upper portion, a swing member for swinging the lower portion of said door outwardly and upwardly, said swing member having first, second, and third pivots arranged in a triangular pattern, said first pivot being fixed and being farthest from the door when the door is in the closed position, said second pivot being closest to the door when the door is in the closed position, a link having one end connected to said second pivot and the other end pivotally connected to the door above said axis, and power driven means for activating said swing member, said power driven means including a connecting member, feed means, a driving motor coupled to said feed means, support means for rotatably mounting said feed means and driving motor, said connecting member being connected to the third pivot of the swing member and being connected to said feed means and said connecting member extending horizontally away from said third pivot when the door is in the closed position, said connecting member being movable rearwardly away from said door during opening of the door, whereby "operation of said feed means by said driving motor efiects the pivoted position of the door about said substantially horizontal axis;

4. Overhead door apparatus comprising a door, a

door frame, said door being pivotally mounted on said frame along a substantially horizontal axis in its upper portion, a swing member having a fixed first pivot and second and third piv ts, said three pivots being arranged in a triangular pattern, a link connected to said second pivot and being coupled to said door above said axis for swinging the lower portion of said door outwardly and upwardly, and power driven means for driving said swing member. said power driven meansincluding a connecting member pivotally connected at one end to said third pivot which is at a lower intermediate point of the swing member, screw feed means, bearing means rotatably mounting said screw feed means, and a driving motor connected to said screw feed means, said connecting member being threaded a substantial portion of its length and cooperating with said screw feed means.

5. Overhead door apparatus as defined in Claim 4 and including a frame support, wherein the feed means is rotatablymounted, said frame support being trunnion mounted on a rigid support member.

6. Overhead door apparatus as defined in Claim 4 and including a frame support wherein the screw feed means is rotatably mounted, said frame being mounted by trunnions on a fixed support, and said screw feed means is moved by a motor driven belt, said driving motor being tiltably connected to said frame support and being carried by said trunnions, whereby said motor moves with the screw means and said belt is maintained under a su stantially constant tension.

7. Self-opening overhead door apparatus comprising a balanced door structure including a planar door panel, a plurality of stiffening spars secured to and extending up a surface of said panel, said stiffening spars extending above said panel, a counterweight supported on the upper extensions of said spars and being spaced above the top edge of said door panel, a horizontal door frame positioned in front of the plane of said door structure, a plurality of C-sh-aped hinge pivot arms extending downwardly from said door frame through the space beneath said counterweight .and above said panel and forward to respective positions near said spars and near the top edge of said panel, said arms being pivotally coupled to said spars along an axis parallel with said panel and near the upper edge of said panel, said axis being near the center of gravity of said door structure and a link pivotally connected at one end to said counter-weight, a swing member having first, second, and third pivots arranged in a triangular pattern, said first pivot being fixed, said second pivot being connected .to the other end of said link, a

, feedscrewsraft connected to said third pivot and extend ing backwardly therefrom generally horizontally when the door is in the closed position, and a trunnion-mounted power driven feednut engaging said feedscrew.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,524,956 Strauss Feb. 3, 1925 1,957,990 Austin May 8, 1934 2,538,980 Payne Ian. 23, 1951 2,594,643 Gutisha Apr. 29, 1952 2,602,664 Matchett July 8, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 209,069 Great Britain July 17, 1924 1,017,058 France Sept. 10, 1952 

